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At least 1,045 records · Page 58
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

A Numerical Study of Cracks Appearance on Tungsten Surface After High Intense Pulsed Ion Beam Irradiation

Due to the outstanding physical properties, Tungsten has been proposed for use in the divertor of future fusion devices. However, tungsten shall face strong particle bombardment from the plasma, which causes severe damage to the material. The purpose of this work is to build such an accurate analytical model which can predict the damages in target material like crack production and propagation after high intense pulsed ion beam irradiation. Hence, a two-dimensional finite element method is used to study the effect of high intense pulsed ion beam on tungsten surface numerically. To judge temperature and stress distribution in material, thermal conduction model is combined with non-linear fracture mechanics model and J-Integral parameter is used as a criterion to judge the crack propagation. Simulation results reveal that different crack heights and sizes can affect the results and there is a critical depth for crack propagation. The model gives good results to real experimental observations and has potential applications for different intense pulsed electron/plasma beams and different target materials as well.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Finite element solution of MHD power-law fluid with slip velocity effect and non-uniform heat source/sink

The laminar steady boundary layer flow of an incompressible MHD Power-law fluid past a continuously moving surface is investigated numerically. The study involves the influence of surface slip and non-uniform heat source/sink on the flow and heat transfer. The governing boundary layer flow equations are transformed into non-dimensional, non-linear coupled ordinary differential equations with the help of suitable similarity transformations. The Galerkin finite element method is implemented to crack the resulting system. The impact of different involved physical parameters is exhibited on the dimensionless velocity profile, temperature distributions and rate of heat transfer in graphical and tabular forms for pseudoplastic and dilatant fluids. The local Nusselt number is found to be the decreasing function of slip parameter, temperature and space-dependent heat sink parameter whereas it increases with increasing values of temperature and space dependent heat source parameter. The problem has important application in attaining the sustainable heat transfer rate for the cooling of fluids, especially in heat exchangers used frequently in chemical industry, in order to increase the trustworthiness of a system, as it removes high heat loads from these systems.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Smoothed boundary method for simulating incompressible flow in complex geometries

Simulating flow through porous media with explicit considerations of complex microstructures is very challenging using conventional sharp-interface methods because of the difficulties in generating meshes conformal to complex geometries. In this work, a diffuse interface embedded boundary method known as the Smoothed Boundary Method (SBM) is utilized to facilitate simulations of fluid dynamics involving complex geometries. In diffuse-interface methods, the geometry is described by a domain parameter. The SBM allows the straightforward reformulation of the time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations in terms of this domain parameter, using only algebraic identities. Thus, enforcing the appropriate boundary conditions at the irregular embedded boundary is greatly simplified. Adaptive mesh refinement is used to increase the accuracy of the diffuse interface method by allowing thinner interfacial thickness to be used in the domain parameter. Here, the SBM-formulated Navier-Stokes equations are solved with the Finite Difference Method on refined mesh systems. Sharp-interface Finite Element Method simulations using the commercial software COMSOL on body-conforming meshes are also provided for comparison. Favorable agreement between the two methods is observed. Since it is no longer necessary for the mesh to conform to the complex geometry, the grid system for the SBM simulations can be generated rapidly and without additional manual interventions, making the entire simulation process more expedient.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

High Order Finite Elements S{sub N} Transport in X-Y Geometry on Meshes with Curved Surfaces

Radiation hydrodynamics is useful to model astrophysics, ICF, and glass manufacturing. A large amount of research has been conducted to understand how to solve hydrodynamics equations using high-order finite elements. Researchers at LLNL have developed a general high-order FEM library, Modular Finite Element Methods (MFEM), to enable this research. The BLAST code uses MFEM to evolve the Lagrangian hydrodynamics equations, resulting in meshes with higher order curved surfaces. Our research focuses on the requirements for high order finite element solutions of the radiation transport equation with the eventual goal of studying the complete high-order radiation hydrodynamics solution methodology. For this research we used MFEM to develop a proof-of-concept code that solves the high order finite element transport equations in Cartesian coordinates on meshes with curved surfaces. We have solved several test problems to assess the behavior of our method. (authors)

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Thermo-mechanical simulations of CO{sub 2} laser–fused silica interactions

CO{sub 2} laser heating of silica glass is used in many scientific and industrial applications. Particularly, localized CO{sub 2} laser heating of silica glass has demonstrated its ability to mitigate surface damage on optics used for high power laser applications. To develop such applications, the control of temperature, heat affected area, and resulting mechanical stresses are critical. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the silica transformation, the material ejection, and the thermo-mechanical stresses induced by the laser heating and subsequent cooling. In this paper, we detail the development of comprehensive thermo-mechanical numerical simulations of these physical processes, based on finite-element method. The approach is developed for 2D or 3D cases to tackle the case of a moving beam at the surface of the sample, and we particularly discuss the choice of the different parameters based on bibliographic inputs. The thermal and mechanical numerical results have been compared to different dedicated experimental studies: infrared thermography measurements at the surface of the irradiated area, optical profilometry measurements of the laser-processed sites, and photo-elastic measurements. Very consistent results are obtained between numerical and experimental results for the description of the temperature gradients, the material ejection, and the residual stresses.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Opposing flow in square porous annulus: Influence of Dufour effect

Heat and mass transfer in porous medium is very important area of research which is also termed as double diffusive convection or thermo-solutal convection. The buoyancy ratio which is the ratio of thermal to concentration buoyancy can have negative values thus leading to opposing flow. This article is aimed to study the influence of Dufour effect on the opposing flow in a square porous annulus. The partial differential equations that govern the heat and mass transfer behavior inside porous medium are solved using finite element method. A three node triangular element is used to divide the porous domain into smaller elements. Results are presented with respect to geometric and physical parameters such as duct diameter ratio, Rayleigh number, radiation parameter etc. It is found that the heat transfer increase with increase in Rayleigh number and radiation parameter. It is observed that Dufour coefficient has more influence on velocity profile.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2018

Fast Algorithm for Evaluating Critical Current of High-Temperature Superconducting Pancake Coil

Second-generation (2G) high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tapes are now capable of carrying very high transport current and promising for a wide range of applications. The critical current of HTS coils is important for applications, such as superconducting electric machines, superconducting magnetic energy storage, and superconducting magnets. Therefore, precisely and quickly calculating critical current of HTS coils is very important for designing HTS devices. This paper provides a fast algorithm for evaluating critical current of HTS pancake coil. The fast algorithm is realized through a stationary model, which is based on finite element method (FEM) software. The stationary model means that the model is solved by stationary study instead of time-dependent study. To validate this method, a pancake HTS coil was wound and its critical current was measured. Meanwhile, an axial symmetric stationary model was built according to the geometry of the measured HTS coil. By comparing measured and calculated results, the effectiveness of the stationary model was demonstrated. Moreover, the stationary model is compared with H formulation model. The calculated results by the two models are nearly the same. However, by using stationary calculation, the stationary model can remarkably speed up the computational process. Due to the advantage of calculating speed, the stationary model can be used to characterize and design large-scale HTS applications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Research on Superconducting Magnet in a Superconducting Synchronous Generator

Design and test of superconducting magnet (SM) for a superconducting synchronous generator (SSG) are studied in this paper. First, a suitable superconducting material is selected to make SM by analyzing the characteristics and application background of the five practical superconducting materials, and the applicability and feasibility of the selected superconducting materials are demonstrated. Second, the initial structural parameters of the SM are obtained by finite element method (FEM). In addition, the influence of structural parameters of SM on the performance of SSG is analyzed by simulation. Then, an optimal algorithm combining response surface methodology (RSM) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) is proposed to optimize the structure of SM in order to give full play to the advantages of SM. The simulated results verify that the proposed optimal algorithm is feasible and effective. Finally, the prototype of SM is made by the optimized size, and the SM is tested at a low temperature to obtain the critical temperature and critical current of the SM; the experimental results verify that the designed SM can meet the requirements of SSG.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Effect of annealing on the laser induced damage of polished and CO{sub 2} laser-processed fused silica surfaces

We investigate the effect of different heat treatments on the laser-induced damage probabilities of fused silica samples. Isothermal annealing in a furnace is applied, with different temperatures in the range 700–1100 °C and 12 h annealing time, to super-polished fused silica samples. The surface flatness and laser damage probabilities at 3 ns, 351 nm are measured before and after the different annealing procedures. We have found a significant improvement of the initial laser damage probabilities of the silica surface after annealing at 1050 °C for 12 h. A similar study has been conducted on CO{sub 2} laser-processed sites on the surface of the samples. Before and after annealing, we have studied the morphology of the sites, the evolution of residual stress, and the laser-induced damage threshold measured at 351 nm, 3 ns. In this case, we observe that the laser damage resistance of the laser created craters can reach the damage level of the bare fused silica surface after the annealing process, with a complete stress relieve. The obtained results are then compared to the case of local annealing process by CO{sub 2} laser irradiation during 1 s, and we found similar improvements in both cases. The different results obtained in the study are compared to numerical simulations made with a thermo-mechanical model based on finite-element method that allows the simulation of the isothermal or the local annealing process, the evolution of stress and fictive temperature. The simulation results were found to be very consistent with experimental observations for the stresses evolution after annealing and estimation of the heat affected area during laser-processing based on the density dependence with fictive temperature. Following this work, the temperature for local annealing should reach 1330–1470 °C for an optimized reduction of damage probability and be below the threshold for material removal, whereas furnace annealing should be kept below the annealing point to avoid sample deformation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Compact spherical neutron polarimeter using high-T{sub c} YBCO films

We describe a simple, compact device for spherical neutron polarimetry measurements at small neutron scattering angles. The device consists of a sample chamber with very low (<0.01 G) magnetic field flanked by regions within which the neutron polarization can be manipulated in a controlled manner. This allows any selected initial and final polarization direction of the neutrons to be obtained. We have constructed a prototype device using high-T{sub c} superconducting films and mu-metal to isolate regions with different magnetic fields and tested device performance in transmission geometry. Finite-element methods were used to simulate the device’s field profile and these have been verified by experiment using a small solenoid as a test sample. Measurements are reported using both monochromatic and polychromatic neutron sources. The results show that the device is capable of extracting sample information and distinguishing small angular variations of the sample magnetic field. As a more realistic test, we present results on the characterization of a 10 μm thick Permalloy film in zero magnetic field, as well as its response to an external magnetic field.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2017

A New Fokker–Planck Approach for the Relaxation-driven Evolution of Galactic Nuclei

We present an approach for simulating the collisional evolution of spherical isotropic stellar systems based on the one-dimensional Fokker–Planck equation. A novel aspect is that we use the phase volume as the argument of the distribution function instead of the traditionally used energy, which facilitates the solution. The publicly available code PhaseFlow implements a high-accuracy finite-element method for the Fokker–Planck equation, and can handle multiple-component systems, optionally with the central black hole and taking into account loss-cone effects and star formation. We discuss the energy balance in the general setting, and in application to the Bahcall–Wolf cusp around a central black hole, for which we derive a perturbative solution. We stress that the cusp is not a steady-state structure, but rather evolves in amplitude while retaining an approximately ρ∝r{sup −7/4} density profile. Finally, we apply the method to the nuclear star cluster of the milky Way, and illustrate a possible evolutionary scenario in which a two-component system of lighter main-sequence stars and stellar-mass black holes develops a Bahcall–Wolf cusp in the heavier component and a weaker ρ∝r{sup −3/2} cusp in the lighter, visible component, over the period of several Gyr. The present-day density profile is consistent with the recently detected mild cusp inside the central parsec, and is weakly sensitive to initial conditions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Modelling and simulation of a porous core photonic crystal fibre for terahertz wave propagation

A porous core photonic crystal fibre based on conventional hexagonal lattice cladding is proposed for propagating terahertz radiation. The structure is designed and theoretically investigated using full vectorial finite element method. Simulation results show that at 300 µm core diameter, with a high porosity of 85%, and an operating frequency of 1.3 THz, the proposed fibre reduces the bulk absorption loss of cyclic olefin copolymer (TOPAS) by about 81%, which corresponds to an ultra-low effective material loss value of 0.039 cm{sup −1}. Furthermore, the proposed fibre shows near zero dispersion coefficient of 0.47 ps/THz/cm with an extremely small variation of 0.05 over a broad 1.3 THz bandwidth; with confinement and bending losses investigated and found to be negligibly low. It is anticipated that the proposed waveguide can potentially be used for short range transmission of terahertz radiation in the communication window.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2015

Structure-dependent localized surface plasmon resonance characteristics and surface enhanced Raman scattering performances of quasi-periodic nanoarrays: Measurements and analysis

A set of periodic and quasi-periodic Au nanoarrays with different morphologies have been fabricated by using electron beam lithography technique, and their optical properties have been examined experimentally and analyzed theoretically by scanning near-field optical microscope and finite element method, respectively. Results present that the localized surface plasmon resonance of the as-prepared Au nanoarrays exhibit the structure-depended characteristics. Comparing with the periodic nanoarrays, the quasi-periodic ones demonstrate stronger electric field enhancement, especially for Thue-Morse nanoarray. Meanwhile, the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid molecular labeled nanoarrays show that the quasi-periodic nanoarrays exhibit distinct SERS enhancement, for example, a higher enhancement factor of ∼10{sup 7} is obtained for the Thue-Morse nanoarray consisted of square pillars of 100 nm size. Therefore, it is significant to optimally design and fabricate the chip-scale quasi-periodic nanoarrays with high localized electric field enhancement for SERS applications in biosensing field.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Magnetic and Thermal Design of HTS Quadrupole Magnet for Newly Developed Superconducting Proton Cyclotron Beam Line

A magnetic and thermal design of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) quadrupole magnet for newly developed superconducting proton cyclotron was presented in this research. With superconducting technology, the design can reduce the magnet size and remove the heat loads more efficiently. Calculations are conducted with finite element method (FEM) to study the quadrupole magnet’s magnetic and thermal properties. For the magnet cold-mass and cryostat system, the heat load is mainly generated by conduction and radiation. Multilayer thermal insulation and G10 supports are used to restrict them. The magnetic field distribution in the HTS coils is calculated to consider the critical current degradation of the YBCO tapes. The effects on the field gradient quality in relation to the pole tip profile and end chamfer are analyzed. The sixth multipole component in the integral field can be improved with end chamfer. Finally, a 20 T/m HTS quadrupole magnet with integral field uniformity less than 0.05% out to 75% of the inscribed radius is proposed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

DE-NE0000724 - Research Performance Final Report - Investigation of Thermal Aging Effects on the Evolution of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Cast Duplex Stainless Steels

This report details the research activities carried out under DOE-NEUP award number DE-NE0000724 concerning the evolution of structural and mechanical properties during thermal aging of CF–3 and CF–8 cast duplex stainless steels (CDSS). The overall objective of this project was to use state-of-the-art characterization techniques to elucidate trends and phenomena in the mechanical and structural evolution of cast duplex stainless steels (CDSS) during thermal aging. These steels are commonly used as structural materials in commercial light water nuclear power plants, undergoing aging for decades in operation as cooling water pipes, pump casings, valve bodies, etc. During extended exposure to these conditions, CDSS are known to undergo a change in mechanical properties resulting in a loss of ductility, i.e. embrittlement. While it is generally accepted that structural changes within the ferrite phase, such as decomposition into iron (Fe)-rich and chromium (Cr)-rich domains, lead to the bulk embrittlement of the steels, many questions remain as to the mechanisms of embrittlement at multiple length scales. This work is intended to shed insight into the atomic level composition changes, associated kinetic mechanisms, and effects of changing phase structure on micro- and nano-scale deformation that lead to loss of impact toughness and tensile ductility in these steels. In general, this project provides a route to answer some of these major questions using techniques such as 3-dimensional (3-D) atom probe tomography (APT) and real-microstructure finite element method (FEM) modeling, which were not readily available when these steels were originally selected for service in light water reactors. Mechanical properties evaluated by Charpy V-notch impact testing (CVN), tensile testing, and microhardness and nanohardness measurements were obtained for each condition and compared with the initial baseline properties to view trends in deformation behavior during aging. Concurrent analysis of the microstructure and nanostructure by atom probe tomography (APT) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) provide mechanistic insight into the kinetic and mechanical behavior occurring on the nano-scale. The presence and morphology of the ferrite, austenite, and carbide phases have been characterized, and formation of new phases during aging, including spinodal decomposition products (α- and α'-ferrite) and G-phase, have been observed. The mechanical and structural characterization have been used to create accurate FEM models based on the real micro- and nano-structures of the systems. These models provide new insight into the local deformation behavior of these steels and the effects of each individual phase (including ferrite, austenite, carbides, and spinodal decomposition products) on the evolving bulk mechanical behavior of the system. The project was divided into three major tasks: 1. Initial Microstructure and Mechanical Property Survey and Initiate Heat Treatment; 2. Microstructural Characterization and Mechanical Property Testing During Aging; and 3. Microstructure-based Finite Element Modeling. Each of these tasks was successfully executed, resulting in reliable data and analysis that add to the overall body of work on the CDSS materials. Baseline properties and aging trends in mechanical data confirm prior observations and add new insights into the mechanical behavior of the steels. Structural characterization on multiple length scales provides new information on phase changes occurring during aging and sheds light on the kinetic processes occurring at the atomic scale. Furthermore, a combination of mechanical testing and microstructural characterization techniques was utilized to design FEM models of local deformation behavior of the ferrite and austenite phases, providing valuable new information regarding the effects of each of the microstructural components on the hardening and embrittlement processes. The data and analysis presented in this report and the publication associated with this project (§V) increase the understanding of aging and deformation in CF–3 and CF–8 steels. These results provide valuable information that can be utilized to aid in making informed decisions regarding the ongoing use of these steels in commercial nuclear infrastructure.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Direct numerical simulations of agglomeration of circular colloidal particles in two-dimensional shear flow

Colloidal agglomeration of nanoparticles in shear flow is investigated by solving the fluid-particle and particle-particle interactions in a 2D system. We use an extended finite element method in which the dynamics of the particles is solved in a fully coupled manner with the flow, allowing an accurate description of the fluid-particle interfaces without the need of boundary-fitted meshes or of empirical correlations to account for the hydrodynamic interactions between the particles. Adaptive local mesh refinement using a grid deformation method is incorporated with the fluid-structure interaction algorithm, and the particle-particle interaction at the microscopic level is modeled using the Lennard-Jones potential. Motivated by the process used in fabricating fuel cell catalysts from a colloidal ink, the model is applied to investigate agglomeration of colloidal particles under external shear flow in a sliding bi-periodic Lees-Edwards frame with varying shear rates and particle fraction ratios. Both external shear and particle fraction are found to have a crucial impact on the structure formation of colloidal particles in a suspension. Segregation intensity and graph theory are used to analyze the underlying agglomeration patterns and structures, and three agglomeration regimes are identified.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Performance comparison of Rayleigh and STW modes on quartz crystal for strain sensor application

In this study, we compare two kinds of strain sensors based on Rayleigh wave and surface transverse wave (STW) modes, respectively. First, we perform a strain-and-stress analysis using the finite element method, and we consider the contribution to a surface acoustic wave (SAW) velocity shift. Prior to fabrication, we use a coupling-of-modes model to simulate and optimize two-port SAW resonators for both modes. We use a network analyzer to measure and characterize the two devices. Further, we perform an experiment using a strain-testing system with a tapered cross-section cantilever beam. The experimental results show that the ratio of the frequency shift to the strain for the Rayleigh wave mode is −1.124 ppm/με in the parallel direction and 0.109 ppm/με in the perpendicular direction, while the corresponding values for the STW mode are 0.680 ppm/με and 0.189 ppm/με, respectively.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Miniature DC electromagnetic pumps of molten lead and sodium to support development of Gen-IV nuclear reactors

This work developed designs of submerged, dual-regions, miniature DC-EM pumps for circulating molten lead and liquid sodium at ≤500 °C without active cooling for use in ex-pile and in-pile test loops to support of materials and fuel developments for Gen-IV sodium and molten lead fast nuclear reactor. These pumps with two pumping regions are 57 mm, 66.8 mm, 95.4 mm, and 133.5 mm in diameter and have two Alnico 5 permanent magnets with Hiperco-50 pole pieces for focusing the magnetic field lines in the flow duct. The Equivalent Circuit Model (ECM) linked to the Finite Element Method Magnetics (FEMM) software in MATLAB platform calculated the pumps characteristics for a wide range of parameters. Also determined are the pumps dimensions for the highest cumulative pumping power and peak efficiency. These dimensions are the height, width, and length of the flow duct, the thickness of the Alnico magnets, the length of current electrodes, and the separation distance between the two pumping regions. For molten lead, the pumping power increases from 368 W to 728 W, and the peak efficiency from 14.7% to 31.6% with increased pump diameter from 57 mm to 133.5 mm. In conclusion, for liquid sodium, both the pumping power and peak efficiency are higher, increasing from 392 W to 767 W and from 44.3 to 51.2%, respectively, with increased pump diameter from 57 mm to 133.5 mm.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗